Stronger together
by Notaferret
Summary: Sakura catches Itachi's attention with her deadpan explanation of her team's dynamics. Slow build itachi/sakura. Non massacre au. Strong sakura.
1. Chapter 1

Non massacre au, strong sakura. Eventual sakura/ itachi

Sakura is 16, itachi is 21

Sakura sighed as she walked through the hospital halls. Team seven was finally back together, but their dynamic hadn't changed. She was still left out of training and forced to stay behind them on missions. They were supposed to be training together now, but they wouldn't let her join in sparing. So, instead, she decided to pick up an extra shift at the hospital.

Sakura was training under Tsunade and had been for three years. However, as hokage she didn't have a lot of time to devote to teaching her. Sakura understood, of course. But, that didn't stop her from thinking of it as unfair. Sasuke and Naruto both had teachers who gave them their full attention.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura pulled herself away from those thoughts and refocused her mind on her clipboard. She maneuvered quickly through the halls to her next patients room. Entering she was surprised to find two Uchiha. One of the two raised an eyebrow at her. She recognized him, but didn't comment on it.

"Uchiha sans." She bowed, while putting on a professional façade.

"Hello, Haruno san, correct? I'm Shisui Uchiha." He bowed back.

"I'm aware." Sakura replied.

"Oh?" he smirked, "I see my reputation proceeds me."

"No, only your medical chart." Sakura deadpanned. Shisui pouted and the other man chuckled at his friend. "Now, please remove your jacket."

He did as asked revealing a long and deep cut running down his arm. Knowing this was not his only injury, sakura pumped diagnostic medical chakra through him first. It revealed two broken ribs, a thin cluster of chakra on his upper arm that was to be expected considering whom he was with, and an odd formation on his lungs.

"Uchiha san, were you hit badly in the chest in the last month or so?" she asked as she began healing his arm.

"Why do you ask?"

"There seems to be incorrectly formed scar tissue on your lung that could result in complications for you if untreated." She finished his arm. Slicing wounds on the arms and legs had become incredibly easy for her, even when severing the muscles. She moved onto his ribs.

Shisui rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "It was healed on the field. Itachi told me to go to the hospital when we returned but I guess I forgot about the injury." The said man tsked beside him. "Can you fix it."

"Yes." She told him as she finished his ribs. They were each broken cleanly in only one place. An even easier fix than his arm. "But not now. The malformed tissue has to be removed and that requires surgery. You'll have to schedule one."

Sakura took a step back from the men, writing quickly on her clipboard. "In the future, you should schedule an examination after every mission." She bowed to them and turned to leave.

"Aren't you supposed to be training with your team right now?" Itachi's voice stopped. "That's what my brother told my mother when he left this morning."

Sakura turned back to face him. "Yes well, I never train much with them."

"Why not?" this time it was Shisui who spoke.

Sakura sighed. She had admitted this to herself years ago, but it still stung. "I am not there because I am rarely included. I am a kunoichi without a clan. My entire family is civilian. I have never had a particular talent for anything besides books and I barely reach the average for chakra reserves. And, beyond that, I have a jinchuriki and main branch Uchiha for teammates. They are much more important than I am." Sakura turns back to the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." She swiftly left, leaving the two Uchiha men alone with their thoughts.

Im sick, and I have an assignment due in three hours. Life's goin' great.

Normal chapters will be longer than this.

Please tell me if there are any words stuck together (likethis) for some reason my phone's spacebar is refusing to work properly.


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura sat up in bed, awakened by the light from her window. Stretching, she stood and dressed in loose shorts and a tank top. Walking downstairs while stifling a yawn, she paused on her way to the door to pop her head into the kitchen. As expected her parents weren't awake yet. Heading back to her original destination, she slipped on her ninja sandals and headed for the rooftops. She traveled to the edge of the village to begin her morning run.

As she ran, Sakura let her mind wander. This had become routine for her. It let her steady her mind for the day to come. This morning, her mind chose to focus first on the Uchiha she treated yesterday. She compared the time and chakra it took to heal him to other cases, and thought of the easiest ways to fix his lungs. These kinds of situations were annoyingly common among ninja, especially the males. For some reason so many refuse to go to examinations after missions.

Sakura's mind soon drifted to another topic, the man with her patient. She had only met Itachi Uchiha a few times. Once when the team was invited for dinner at the Uchiha main house, twice more when he came to pick up Sasuke from training, and a fourth when heading to speak to Tsunade. They never really spoke and she didn't know much about him. The most she knew is that he's impossibly strong, an anbu captain, heir to the Uchiha clan and most likely to be the future chief of the Uchiha police force. She knew nothing of his past or his personality. It does make her curious though. If she were to get to know him would she find him to be more like Fugaku and Sasuke, or take after Mikoto? She had met the woman only a few times, but she proved to be quite jovial and caring.

Sakura did not get to dwell on this further. Finishing her tenth lap she quickly made her way home. Entering her home and taking her shoes off she headed back upstairs to shower. She passed her parents on the way and sent them a smile.

The warm water felt amazing, and so did the feeling of all the sweat and dirt washing down the drain. She almost didn't want to get out, but eventually, after an almost shamefully long battle of will, she did. Wrapping a towel around her body she paused for a moment to look in the mirror.

The purple diamond stood out against her pale skin. Her short hair brushed her shoulders and fanned out like petals when dry. She was glad she cut it. Not only was it practical she much proffered how it looked.

Stepping out of her bathroom and back into her room she changed into her everyday outfit. It consisted of a red sleeveless top, the same shade as her old qipao dress, and black knee length leggings. Attaching her pouch to her hip and kunai holster to her thigh she quickly headed back downstairs. Her mother greeted her with a plate of rice balls and eggs which sakura happily ate. Waving goodbye to her mother and father she one again headed to the rooftops. This time with her destination being the old training grounds.

Team seven had been using these grounds since they were twelve, ever since their first survival training test. It holds a lot of memories for them, both good and bad.

"Sakura!" she quickly sidestepped her loud friend who was jumping at her. "Aw, Sakura," Naruto groaned in disappointment.

Sakura giggled. He hadn't been able to hug her like that since he first returned from training with Jiraiya. She wasn't twelve anymore and had changed a lot since she was. Naruto hadn't. He increased his skills as a ninja over time, but still retained his old dead last, paint the hokage monument for attention personality. To be honest, Sakura was happy about it. It reminded her that through all the darkness surrounding the ninja world, there were still some people strong enough to get through it untainted.

Sakura looked past him to her other teammate and sensei. Kakashi was smiling at his students' interaction, she could tell by the crinkles near his eye. Sasuke stood with his arms crossed and his signature scowl. His personality didn't change either, though he never had the kind of full contrast sunny disposition like Naruto. She understood why. Sasuke had lived his entire life overshadowed by his brother and the pressure of an entire clan weighing down on him. It didn't bother her like it used too.

"Good morning, Sasuke."

"Hn."

Another thing that didn't change about Sasuke, his consistent monosyllabic answers.

"Naruto, Sasuke, go spar to warm up." The two boys wasted no time complying with their sensei, walking to the oposite side of the training grounds.

"I'm gonna win this time, teme!"

"Hn, dobe." Their voices faded off.

"Sakura." The girl looked up at her sensei. "How is training at the hospital?"

"It's been going well, Kakashi-sensei." She told him.

"That's good to hear. But, please don't skip training again. I know you may not prefer it but it's just as important as your hospital work.

Sakura put on a fake smile for her sensei. "Sorry, it won't happen again." He smiled back and ruffled her hair before walking off to were the boys were.

Sakura let her smile fall. To her, team seven training couldn't be as important as hospital work because she never does anything here. It wasn't even the first time she ditched training, the others just weren't noticed.

…

Kakashi sighed as he walked away from his female student. She had been skipping training too often. It was one thing when she did it on occasion and left a clone behind, but she had skipped all three sessions last week and stopped bothering to hide it. It was as if she thought he wouldn't notice. Actually, he wouldn't be surprised if she did.

He understood she felt left out, but Sasuke and Naruto weren't good sparing partners for her. She would either easily outthink them or not be able to keep up with their ninjutsu proficiency. Perhaps he would start sparing her himself, or find another chunin to spar her. Just something to keep her occupied and active during training.

….

Sakura entered the hospital in a fairly tranquil mood. She had been rather upset during training but had since cooled off. Having something to do here should sate her need for stimulating activity she doesn't get during training.

Sakura moved peacefully to the office where a clipboard always awaited her with her duties for the day. However, today was different. Instead, when she walked into the room another woman quickly stood up. Sakura easily recognized her as one of the head nurses.

"Sakura! You'll be preforming surgery on Shisui Uchiha before receiving other patients today." Sakura took a moment to process the information. She didn't usually preform surgery outside of tests and learning sessions with Tsunade. Not because she couldn't but simply because it wasn't something put on her rotations.

"Why?" she settled on the simple question.

"He specifically requested you, Sakura-san. He is already in a prepped room waiting for you." Sakura sighed, but quickly forced a smile at the nurse before exiting the room. She used chakra sensing to find the room he was in. It was quite easy, Uchiha signatures are very distinctive. And, to her luck, there were two of them waiting for her.

"Sakura-san!" Shisui's jubilent voice sounded out as she entered the room. "Great to see your beautiful face. My legs were beginning to go numb from lying here so long."

Sakura retained her composure only through years of practice with annoying teammates and friends.

"Hello, Uchiha-san. If I may ask, for curiosity's sake, why did you request me specifically?"

"Well, you said you could do it and I thought you may want to finish what you started." He smiled at her in a mischievous way.

Sakura chose not to dwell on whether or not that had a double meaning and instead turned to the other Uchiha.

"If you could please wait outside while I begin the procedure, Uchiha-san."

"Actually, Haruno-san," Itachi began. "I was wondering, for curiosity sake, if I could watch the procedure."

Sakura kept her expression even. "I'm sorry Uchiha-san, that is against protocol."

Itachi nodded and accepted her answer, leaving the room.

"I'll be knocking you out for awhile, just a swift bit of chakra through your system. I'll revive you when I'm done." He nodded his affirmative and she quickly put her gloves and mask on. She shook off the unnerving feeling of a sharingan watching her every shift in chakra through the wall as she readied a chakra scalpel. The procedure would take approximately one hour.

…Author's notes….

I'm still sick and had to go to school today anyway.

I tried really hard not to make kakashi a neglectful asshole. I think that he would focus more on Sasuke and Naruto not just because of status but because of their fighting and sparing styles. Naruto is kind of slow but powerful and sasuke is quicker but just as likely to pull some bullshit and almost die. Even in the manga Sakura didn't cause trouble outside of occasionally losing her temper and being overall incompetent. But she's not incompetent in this story, so yeah.

Anyway, I have a scene for chapter three mapped out already and I'll see how it goes from there. Expect that in the next few days. Now, I'm really tired so, bye.


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura wiped the sweat from her brow after removing her gloves. Pulsing her chakra to check her reserves, she nodded in satisfaction. The surgery lasted only 45 minutes, no complications, and her reserves were in the expected range. All that was left now was to wake him up.

Sending a quick jolt of chakra through him and stepping back, she turned her attention to her clipboard. She wrote her notes down and filled out the form with practiced swiftness, all while still keeping her writing neat. While she understood that most doctors were highly busy she hated when they perpetuated the stereotype; it was a matter of pride for her.

Sakura turned her attention back to the Uchiha as he began to stir. He blinked his eyes in quick succession as he adjusted to the bright room. Sakura sent him a small smile when he turned his head to look at her.

"You're all healed, Uchiha-san. Would you like me to call your clansman back in?" he nodded slowly, sitting himself up. Sakura opened the door and gestured with her head for Itachi to enter, then closed it again when he did.

"While you are fully healed, you are required to stay the night. You will be released in the morning. Do you have any questions for me before I take my leave?" Sakura asked in a professional tone.

"Yes, actually." Shisui spoke up in a slightly scratchy voice. Coughing once to clear his throat, he continued. "Would you like to train with us tomorrow morning?"

Sakura's expression morphed to surprise and confusion. She could only manage to question, "why?"

"I think it will be… beneficial. Besides, can't hurt to have a medic around, right?"

Sakura hesitated for only a moment before deciding that what he said was true. She could learn a lot from them; she should take advantage of the situation. "Okay, that is, if Uchiha-san is alright with it." She turned to Itachi.

He smiled, a small pleasant smile that she could tell was mostly fabricated. "I agree." He left it at that. If sakura was completely honest, it threw her off a bit.

"Great, meet us at training ground 36 at 8."

Sakura nodded and quickly left.

…

Sakura groaned internally. She really hoped thinking of the Uchiha didn't become a habit during her runs. It was specifically Itachi that her mind kept wandering to.

She first thought of her work at the hospital. She had been shadowed by a new mednin who had kept repeating and reiterating what she said. She found it highly annoying. That then morphed into thoughts on the stone faced Uchiha. Itachi had discreetly thrown her words back at her. It frustrated Sakura that she just couldn't understand what it meant. "for curiosity's sake." She would have dismissed it but the strange inflection he put on the words rendered her unable to.

Attempting to organize her thoughts, as a top medical ninja she knew that frustration lead to mistakes, she began to attempt to think of a clear possible answer. When she had used those words it was because what she was asking wasn't protocol. Itachi could have known that what he was asking was against protocol and used the words to gain leverage to get what he wanted. To either guilt her into letting him (she was given unnecessary information just to satisfy curiosity) or to… if he really wanted to see why did he immediately give up?

Once again, frustration took the forefront of her mind. Shaking her head Sakura shifted her stance and began to sprint her final lap. She decided to lose her self in the adrenalin the full out, chakra-less sprint would cause.

…

Sakura had never been to training ground 36; it was reserved for jonin and above and she was only a chunin. She did know where it was though, as she had memorized many maps of konoha over the years. Located near the Uchiha district it was fairly large and well used, mostly by Uchiha.

Before entering onto the grounds she sent out her chakra. Itachi and shisui were at the opposite edge of the grounds. When she walked into view both uchiha were already staring at her; they had sensed her chakra. Shisui immediately treated her with a large smile and an over exaggerated wave. Sakura sent smaller one back.

"I was afraid you'd be late considering how Kakashi is." Shisui was still grinning.

"Luckily he hasn't passed on any bad habits to me." Sakura laughed and shisui joined in.

"So, Haruno," his voice took on a darker undertone, "Who do you want to spar first?"

Sakura's eyes widened.

"I…" She didn't know how to respond. Her eyes flickered from one Uchiha to the other. Noticing how quiet Sakura was, he broke the silence.

"When was the last time you were on a mission, Haruno-san?"

Sakura's gaze snapped to him. "Um, two weeks ago, a b rank solo mission."

"Solo? You have a team, do you not?"

"Yes, but Tsunade-shishou makes sure to send me on solo missions. It gives me more experience since I…" she trailed off.

"You what?" Sakura looked down.

"I can't quite do much on my team other than healing. My teammates don't really let me… do much else."

"why do you allow them to control what you do?" Sakura looked even more confused. Itachi mentally shook his head. "Come, Haruno, spar me."

Itachi walked to the middle of the clearing and sakura, after taking a second to comprehend his words, followed.

They both bowed and then settled into a fighting stance, far enough away as to not be able to touch each other, but close enough to be able to with a small lunge.

Sakura quickly ran through everything she knew about itachi uchiha's fighting style. He had activated his sharingan. She knew that if she looked into his eyes she would lose immediately. Even without the aid of his sharingan he was strong. Like all uchiha, he used mainly fire style jutsu. Although, itachi wasn't like all Uchiha. He has been an Anbu captain since age 13. He was the best of the clan. Sakura knew she couldn't win, but she could at least put up a fight.

Shisui sent her a smile and, somewhat jokingly, began to play referee from the sidelines. Sakura didn't really hear what he was saying until the word, "Hajime."

Sakura immediately jumped back to put distance between them. She chose to focus mainly on his chest instead of his face to avoid eye contact. She has spared Tsunade quite a few times, so she has some experience against opponents this strong. However, Tsunade's fighting style is drastically different, so she didn't know quite what to expect. She didn't have any information she could use.

Itachi opened by throwing a barrage of Kunai that she dodged with relative ease. He quickly flash stepped behind her after though, and sent a kick that connected. She was sent forward a few feet and landed on her knees. However, instead of stopping her momentum she rolled with it back onto her feet. Deciding it was pointless to focus on defense, she turned to offence instead.

Sakura wasn't exceptionally fast. She was fast, but not as fast as anbu, especially not in terms of covering distance. However, with the chakra augmentation Tsunade taught her she was able to blur out of existence like her teammates on rock lee did, if only barely.

Using this skill Sakura moved towards Itachi. She sent a kick in return, which he dodged. She continued forward with punches and kicks. Itachi effortlessly dodged every one. She was about to switch to weapons when she realized the pattern in his movement.

Sakura was only a chunin. She knew that, because of this, Itachi wouldn't go all out on her. It didn't insult her, she understood. If anything, in this moment, she was happy for it. Tsunade had told her that underestimation from the enemy would be one of her greatest advantages and past experiences confirmed it. Itachi only stepped just out of range of each punch, moving with his center of gravity shifted slightly back. Each time was the same. Sakura could use this.

Sakura's next punch was like any other. Except this time, as soon as he moved back, she changed the angle and hit the ground as hard as she could. The resulting crater set him off balance, and if Sakura wasn't so focused on her plan, she'd of seen his eyes widen in surprise. Quickly as she could, Sakura darted forward. A touch was all she needed. Just a touch…

And she got it. Her finger grazed the arm just before he moved away. She sent a bolt of chakra through her fingers into him and saw his arm go limp. The resulting hiss from him caused her to foolishly look up.

She met his eyes. The image of his red sharingan was burned into her mind as the rest of the world faded away.

…

Author's notes

Hajime means start.

This wasn't supposed to take so long, but my phone was broken for awhile (it got thrown off a balcony, long story) and I write these on my phone so I couldn't work on it.

Also, I'm really fucking lazy and just haven't felt like it.


	4. Chapter 4

Itachi knew very little about his younger brother's teammates. When they were first assigned together all he knew was that Naruto was a jinchuriki, Sakura was a civilian, and Sasuke found them both annoying and loud. As time progressed he gathered more information about Naruto from Sasuke's grumblings when he came home from training battered and bruised. During this time he did not hear of the team's kunoichi.

The first time he'd ever seen the girl was during her first chunin exam. She was standing in front of her brother, turned to protect him, gripping her kunai as if her life depended on it. She was dripping in blood, most of which was not her own. She looked weak and scared as orochimaru laughed, looming over her. A wilting flower about to be killed by a towering weed.

As Itachi moved to save his brother and his teammates he finalized his view on the girl. She was weak, and naïve. She had no place on a ninja team, much less on one with an Uchiha. However, considering the determination on her face as she tried to protect her teammate and ignore her fear, she could find a place someday.

Over the years he heard bits and pieces about her. Shortly after his brother and their other teammate, Naruto, left the village for training she became chunin. At age 13 she and the Aubrame heir were the second and third of the rookie 9 to do so. A few months after that, at 14, she became apprentice to the new hokage, Tsunade Senju. This surprised him, but he didn't put much thought into it or dig much deeper. He'd had no reason to.

Truly, Itachi didn't think about her much over the next two years. He caught a glimpse of her having dinner at his house once when Sasuke and Naruto returned. Bubble gum pink hair and a smile slightly too tense. But he was sweaty and covered in blood, so he didn't even pause long enough to say hello.

When Itachi saw Sakura walk into the hospital room that day he took a moment to recognize her. The awkwardness she once held was replaced with a new confidence. She spoke without hesitation. Throughout the visit he couldn't take his eyes off her. Comparing and contrasting this young woman to the awkward genin he remembered.

Her expression was professional and gave no emotion away. He had seen many ninja drastically change over their years in the field. However, the change in Sakura drew his curiosity. She was so open with her expressions only two years beforehand, he couldn't help but wonder what caused her to change so much in such a short time. They weren't in war, so it wasn't likely something seen in the field. And with Tsunade's famous bedside manor he doubted she would train her to act this way.

Itachi was drawn from his thoughts when she stopped healing Shisui and began to leave after writing her last few notes. So, for the first time since she entered, he spoke.

"Aren't you supposed to be training with your team right now?" he paused, "That's what my brother told my mother when he left this morning."

Sakura turned back to face him. "Yes well, I never train much with them."

"Why not?" Shisui asked.

Sakura sighed. "I am not there because I am rarely included. I am a kunoichi without a clan. My entire family is civilian. I have never had a particular talent for anything besides books and I barely reach the average for chakra reserves. And, beyond that, I have a jinchuriki and main branch Uchiha for teammates. They are much more important than I am."

Both Itachi and his cousin froze as the kunoichi bid them goodbye and left the room. He couldn't remember the last time someone had truly surprised him. Itachi's interest was piqued.

…

When Shisui came to him to ask if he wanted to tag along to the hospital he originally said no. When his cousin threw the words, "Sakura's doing it," back over his shoulder as he left Itachi quickly followed. He wanted to speak to her again. What she had said last time had not stopped bouncing around in his head since he'd last seen her. It was the shinobi part of his brain that went through every situation that could of caused her view herself that way.

Itachi had always been a curious person, a combination of traits from his mother and the shinobi instincts cultivated in him since he was a young child. He had seen a spark of potential all those years ago, and couldn't help but ponder what it grew into.

Reaching the hospital, Shisui was sent through the same routine of questions and paperwork as always before they were lead to the hospital room. Itachi could sense Sakura's chakra signature as soon as she entered the hallway. He could also sense the way she paused outside of the door for a moment before entering.

"Sakura-san!" Shisui's called out as soon as she entered. "Great to see your beautiful face. My legs were beginning to go numb from lying here so long." Itachi fought the urge to sigh at his cousin's antics. Shisui was often far too outspoken.

"Hello, Uchiha-san. If I may ask, for curiosity's sake, why did you request me specifically?" Her wording caught his interest. He could easily tell it was an excuse to ask something that protocol didn't tell her to. She had seemed like someone who held protocol in high regard.

"Well, you said you could do it and I thought you may want to finish what you started." He smiled at her in a mischievous way that Itachi knew from years of experience meant he wasn't being fully truthful.

Sakura seemed to fully accept Shisui's words and turned to itachi.

"If you could please wait outside while I begin the procedure, Uchiha-san." Truly, he wished to see her work through such an intricate process close up. The control she used the first time he saw her healing was impressive, but he knew this would be even more so. He also knew the protocol, but decided to test it.

"Actually, Haruno-san" he began. "I was wondering, for curiosity sake," he knew that, if there were any wwors that would get a reaction, it would be these. "If I could watch the procedure."

She kept her expression even. "I'm sorry Uchiha-san, that is against protocol."

Itachi nodded and accepted her answer, leaving the room. As soon as he did, he turned on his sharingan. He heard some muffled talking before sakura got to work. He saw her chakra expertly weave through Shisui's system as she used her jutsu's. Delicately breaking down the scared tissue and reforming new tissue ed to replace it. He only wished he could see it up close.

...

Itachi was, for once, glad that shisui had a mischievous nature. He himself never would have invited Sakura to train, much less request her as his doctor to create an opportunity to do so.

Shortly after he and his cousin arrived, they sensed Sakura's Chakra. They both turned to it's direction as she walked onto the training field. Shisui immediately treated her with a large smile and an over exaggerated wave. Sakura sent smaller one back. Itachi used this moment to take in her appearance; it was quite different from the doctor attire he had seen her in previously. At the hospital she wore plain gray pants with standard issued shoes for the hospital employees, a black kimono style top and her white doctor's coat. Now she had on thick leggings that covered her thighs with ninja issued boots covering her shins. Her top was sleeveless and zipped at the front, in the red color she has always worn over the years She had pink, seemingly padded, fabric over her elbows and knees. Her kunai pouch at her leg and red konoha headband keeping her hair back completed the look. It was overall less plain than what she wore at the hospital, but much more practical than what she wore as a genin.

"I was afraid you'd be late considering how Kakashi is." Shisui was still grinning.

"Luckily he hasn't passed on any bad habits to me." She laughed and shisui joined in.

"So, Haruno," Shisui's voice took on a darker undertone, "Who do you want to spar first?"

Itachi watched her eyes widen. Shisui tended to go over the top with new people.

"I…" she seemed to be at a loss. Deciding he should help the girl, Itachi decided to finally enter the conversation.

"When was the last time you were on a mission, Haruno-san?"

Sakura's gaze snapped to him. "Um, two weeks ago, a b rank solo mission."

"Solo? You have a team, do you not?" while she was a chunin, unlike her genin teammates, it was still unusual for one team member to go off without the others.

"Yes, but Tsunade-shishou makes sure to send me on solo missions. It gives me more experience since I…" she trailed off.

"You what?" Sakura looked down. Itachi found himself missing the confident, professional girl from the hospital.

"I can't quite do much on my team other than healing. My teammates don't really let me… do much else." So, that was why. Itachi was disappointed, but not surprised. He had seen many civilian born shinobi and kunoichi get overlooked. He expected better from his brother and a man who was once his senpai. He knows the girl has talent, Kakashi must of at least seen it in some form over his years as her teacher as well. He couldn't see why it was never cultivated.

"why do you allow them to control what you do?" Sakura looked even more confused. Itachi mentally shook his head. How could the disciple of Tsunade Senju be so doubtful of herself? "Come, Haruno, spar with me." Perhaps he could get more insight by sparing her.

Authors note:

I did a bit of this while I was supposed to be working on my midterm essay, and the rest last night and just now. I was planning to get this done late december/ early January but whenever I went to write I just couldn't. So, here we go mid febuary.

This was originally going to include his viewpoint on chapter 3 as well plus samurai view after the fight, but I didn't want to keep you all waiting. Those will be the next chapter. I have a couple of ideas on plot point for after this part of the story and I used the time I wasn't writing solidifying how I want the characters to act, so hopefully I can get some more updates out quickly.

Anyway, I was originally going to have this as a late Christmas present to one of my reviewers ducky devilry, as she asked for it. But that didn't happen so… valentines present? Idk. here is how I broke my phone:

So, first off, my friends are assholes. And, being assholes, we constantly mess with each other. Me and two friends were at school pushing eachother around in the hallways (they started it) and one of said friends was trying to grab my phone. It got to the point we were more of less running down the hallway, one of my friends grabbed my bag, and hey, where'd my phone go? Yeah, it flew out of my hand and over the second floor balcony.

Hope you enjoy that, ducky.

Until next time.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N

School sucks ass

…

"Come, Haruno, spar me." Itachi said. He walked to the center of the clearing, knowing she would follow. Briefly, he acknowledged the fact that Shisui most definitely wanted to be the one to spar Sakura and would most likely pout about it later. He only let this thought occupy his mind for a moment though.

They both bowed and then settled into a fighting stance. Itachi spaced it so that the couldn't touch each other just by reaching out, but didn't have to move very far to do so.

He wasn't sure how she would attack. He knew Tsunade's style, but Tsunade wasn't a genjutsu type like Sakura. He didn't know how Sakura would think or how much of her style was based of Tsunade's. So, to learn the most he could, he activated his sharingan.

Itachi fought the urge to roll his eyes as shisui began to play referee from the sidelines. He ignored his cousin's jokes until he heard the word, "Hajime."

He watched as Sakura immediately jumped back, putting distance between them. He took notice of how she avoided his eyes by focusing on his body. He could see how focused she was by the tiny crinkle between her pink eyebrows. Itachi smirked as he through a barrage of kunai. Sakura dodged with the ease one could only obtain through practice. Good, he thought, before flash stepping behind her and kicking her back, he wanted to see just how far he could push her talents.

Itachi's smirk turned into a smile as she got back onto her feet and went on the offensive. Sakura didn't see this though, as she still kept her gaze away from his face.

As the kunoichi began to attack he dodged with practiced ease, keeping his movements to simple repetitive motions, perfect for maintaining stamina. She was faster then the average chunin, but nowhere near anbu. However, her strength was near tsunade's level already. As she changed her punch to hit the ground at his feet, his eyes widened in surprise as he lost his balance. Before he could regain his balance her hand grazed his arm and he felt an acute, burning pain move down his arm as it went limp. He hissed, and when the girl then made eye contact with him immediately knocked her out with a genjustu.

…

Shisui let out a long whistle as itach dropped to his knee, his uninjured arm clutching his paralyzed one.

"I thought she'd be good, but damn." Shisui grinned, "I want expecting that." The older uchiha slid into the crater to join his cousin and unconscious kunoichi.

"Hn," Itachi agreed. Sakura had talent. Shisui couldn't wait to spar her himself.

…

Sakura groaned as she slowly squinted her eyes open. It took her a moment to remember what happened, but when she did she immediately jumped to her feet. An arm steadied her and she turned to make eye contact with shisui. She held the eye contact with the older uchiha for a long moment before the sound of the other male clearing his throat made her break contact. She looked first to itachi's face and then to where one of his arms clutched the other

"Shit- Uchiha-san I-"

"That was a brilliant maneuver." Itachi interrupted her. "if you hadn't looked up winning would have been significantly more difficult for me."

Sakura was dumbfounded. She expected him to be mad at her, not to complement her.

"what exactly did you do?"

Sakura fumbled with her words for a second before quickly answering. "I compressed the nerves in your arm, effectively paralyzing them. I-uh, can heal you now."

Itachi nodded and moved towards her. Sakura brought her hands to his arm. "it may take a few minutes." Sakura took a deep breath before getting to work. When she finished, she glanced up at Itachi's face before imminently looking down and taking a large step back.

"Good job, haruno-san, I think we should call it a day." Sakura nodded. Before she could speak, shisui addressed her.

"Good job Haruno, that was awesome!" he grinned at her.

"Thank you, Uchiha-san." Sakura smiled back.

"Call me shisui."

"Only if you call me sakura."

"Done, I look forward to getting to spar you, Sakura."

Sakura's smile widened as she bowed, "goodbye shisui-san, Uchiha-san."

…

"Kakashi-san." Kakashi turned away from his favorite novel to look at the uchiha who addressed him.

"Itachi, here for another report on your brother's progress?"

"no," Itachi responded. "I'm here to ask you about his teammate."

"Naruto?"

"No, Sakura." Kakashi's visible eye widened before narrowing at the younger man.

"What do you want with her?" while Kakashi would never say it aloud, he was very protective of his female student.

"I wanted to know why she hasn't had proper training. She has immense potential that hasn't been cultivated."

Kakashi's expression became angrier. "Listen, Uchiha, you may be an anbu captain but you have no right to tell me how to train my students. Especially Sakura, you have nothing to do with her."

Itachi kept his expression neutral. He couldn't understand why Kakashi refused to teach her correctly, how could his senpai be so stupid? But, itachi resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't be able to convince the man to change his ways.

"The ninja world is dangerous, don't make the mistake of letting her go into a situation you didn't prepare her for." With that, he shunshined away.

…

Sakura had no trouble making it to the bridge before Kakashi showed up for training. When he did, he sent Sasuke and Naruto off to spar and Sakura resigned herself to another day of wasted training time. Kakashi surprised her however, when he told her that he had something special for her that day. Apparently he arranged a sparring partner for her and told her to wait for him at the bridge.

Sakura was alone at the bridge (Kakashi left to supervise her teammates) for only 10 minutes before she saw the familiar figure of a boy her age and his large dog.

"Sakura!" he treated her with a toothy grin. "I haven't seen you since the last rookie meet up, you ready to spar?" Sakura was surprised, but smiled back.

"Yeah!"

Sakura had never fought kiba, or any other inuzuka, before, but she had seen them fight other people at least a hundred times. She knew their fighting style well.

She put her training gloves on as they walked toward a clearing. As they got into positions, onizuka turned to akamaru and told him to stay back for now. Sakura frowned.

"You're not going easy on me because I'm a girl, are you inuzuka?"

Kiba laughed. "oh please, have you met my mom and older sister? I learned that I couldn't just go easy on a girl before I could talk. I just want to go without jutsu for awhile."

Sakura smiled. "okay, no jutsu then." They took their stances. They waited only a moment before springing into action.

Kiba threw a punch that sakura easily blocked. Sakura threw her own back and kiba jumped away. They continued like this for a few minutes, trading punches and kicks, for a few minutes with neither making contact. Sakura decided to stop blocking and instead grabbed his arm and pulled.

She brought a knee up to his stomach causing her to double over. He recovered quickly though, and grabbed her by her leads to flip her behind him. Sakura rolled back to her feet and spun around just in time to dodge the boy who was flying towards her in an attempt to tackle him. She grabbed his arms from behind and pulled him towards her. Kiba struggled but couldn't break her grip.

"Yeild?" Sakura asked. Kiba looked frustrated, before he decided to take advantage of the fact their faces were mere inches apart.

Sakura kicked kiba across the clearing. "Kiba, that's fucking disgusting!" Sakura yelled, wiping the spit from her cheek where he licked her. Kiba grinned.

"it worked though."

Sakura yelled and charged him. He dodged, and suddenly, sparing became a game of academy student roughhousing. They lunged and dodged and laughed as Sakura's anger faded into a fiery but childish competitive spirit.

After a long period of dancing around each other, kiba was able to pin sakura to the ground.

"Yield?" he asked her. Sakura smirked, and in response, through him off with ease. Kiba groaned as he landed a few feet away. Sakura smirked, but before she could stand back up, kuba yelled,

"Akamaru!"

Sakura was yet again pinned flat an her back, this time by 200 pounds of dog. Sakura groaned as she heard kiba laughing. But, just like his master, she threw the dog of with ease.

"hey, no jutsu means no chakra either." Sakura smirked.

"I didn't use any chakra." She told him. Kiba's eyes widened and he flopped back onto the ground.

"yeild." He groaned out. Sakura laughed and moved to sit next to him. She pulled two water bottles from her pack and gave one to him. He quickly chugged half of it down, then dumped the second half on his face. Sakura smiled his antics as she drank from her own bottle. They chatted on the ground for awhile before they heard the voices of Sakura's team and stood up.

"sakura, wanna go for lunch after this." Kiba asked with a hopeful smile.

"sorry, but I promised to have lunch with ino today." Kiba got a kicked puppy look and sakura bit her cheek. "I'm free for lunch tomorrow though." Kiba grinned.

"Great, see you then." He told her before leaving with his dog.

"Heg, sakura, was that kiba?" naruto yelled to her.

"yeah, we spared."

"What?" Naruto yelled. "Did he hurt you? I'll kick his ass!" sakura frowned.

"I'm fine Naruto. Anyway, I've gotta go. I'm supposed to meet ino for lunch." Sakura left the grounds quickly, but not quickly enough to hear Sasuke's comment off, "Don't worry dobe, he probably went easy on her because she's a girl."

…

A/N

I was thinking about ship dynamics, awhile ago and now I've added another character as someone I lowkey ship sakura with. I might start a fanfic with him. I then kept thinking and thought up some reasons that they'd also be really good as just friends, and that lead me to building arcs in my head.

Also, I don't know what you guys think, but I think it's better to give a character experience with relationships if they're young (sakura is 16rn) and you're going to eventually have them in a serious relationship. Do you guys agree?

Anyway, I made this extra long because I've been gone so long. I may have a new chapter soon as I have a few days off school, but I have some other stuff I want to work on so, idk.

Edit: I'd just like to clarify that this isnt going to be a kiba/sakura fic. The reason he is involved is because I want sakura to experience certain things before she ends up with itachi. Because of their gaps in age I think it's really important to show her develope and mature before they end up together. Also, it's just more realistic that way. I'd also like to say that there's not going to be anything rom as ntic between her and shisui, because a) the age gap between the two is too much for me to be comfortable with (once again, because sakura is only 16) and b) I dont like love triangles, they're just not my thing.


	6. Chapter 6

Sakura let out a relieved sigh as she got into the shower. She was supposed to meet Ino for lunch in half an hour, so she had to be quick. After spending a minute reveling in the feeling of the hot water on her skin she quickly washed away the dirt from her spar with kiba and cleaned the grease and sweat from her hair.

After putting on her casual clothes she took the rooftop path to her and Ino's favorite café near the yamanaka flower shop. Ino was already there when she arrived, as she always was.

"There you are, forehead! What took you so long?"

"It's still 5 minutes before the time we're supposed to meet, pig," Sakura playfully bit back, while taking her seat. Ino smiled at her best friend.

"I already ordered your favorite sweet anko dumplings and tea." Sakura smiled back. They chatted lightheartedly until their food came, when it finally did, ino got a more serious look on her face. "Sakura… how has training been? We haven't talked since naruto and Sasuke-kun came back from their mission, and I know you took them leaving really hard. Are you doing okay?"

Sakura sighed. "I'm fine Ino. They haven't changed since we were all genin." Sakura let out a laugh that sounded the slightest bit forced. "It's like the two and a half years they were gone never happened." Ino frowned at her friends response.

"But sakura, it did happen. I know you're not okay with things "being just like they were before," you've changed so much since then." Ino reached across the table to put her hand on Sakura's. "You're a chunin now. You're amazing, and strong, and smart, and not to mention beautiful, and you deserve to be treated in away that acknowledges all those qualities."

Sakura looked into her eyes. "Ino… I think these kind of gestures are the reason there are always rrumors going around that we're dating," Sakura deadpanned, completely deflecting from the topic.

"Goddamnit, Sakura! I try to give you some emotional support and you just have to ruin the moment," Ino yelled. Sakura laughed, causing Ino to puff out her cheeks. She opened her mouth to continue, but before she could, Sakura interrupted.

"Kiba asked me out today."

"WHAT!"

…

After explaining how, after sparring, kiba asked her out, Sakura waited patiently for her best friend to respond.

"And you said yes," Ino clarified. Sakura nodded her head, yes. "That's… good."

"Good?" Sakura asked

"Yes, good," Ino said. "You were torn up over Sasuke for a long time when he left, and you haven't liked anyone since. It'll be good for you to date someone." Ino paused. "But, really, Kiba?"

"Hey, he's not that bad." Sakura defended the boy. "He's kind of cute, and nice, and fun…"

"Oh, Sakura," Ino said. "I just never would of expected you to do such a complete 180. I thought you were with me on the dark and brooding boat." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Well, dark and brooding describes most of the ninja population, so it really doesn't narrow it down, Ino. Besides, I've told you before, I don't have a type." Ino pouted again.

"Fine, but since this is your first date, you're coming over for a sleepover to tell me all the juicy details after."

"It's just lunch, there wont be any juicy-"

"Ah, ah, ah," The blond cut her off. "My house, fluffiest pajamas, every detail." She demanded, sternly.

Sakura sighed, but had a small smile on her face. "Okay, Ino."

…

Sakura decided to change the route of her daily morning run for the day. Her afternoon shift at the hospital the day before somehow turned into a night shift. This lead to her being at the hospital from 3pm to 1am, instead of 3pm to 8pm. As a result she got half her usual amount of sleep, as she still woke with the sun. To adjust for her lack of energy she decided to run from her home to the main gates. then, instead of following the outskirts of the village past the uchiha compound, to run around it and back home instead. She was in front of the uchiha compound, about to go home, when her name was called.

"Sakura!" she stopped and turned towards the voice.

"Hey, shisui," she smiled at him and waved. Then, noticing the younger uchiha next to him, bowed, "Hello, Uchiha-san."

Itachi inclined his head towards her. "Good morning, Haruno."

"So," shisui walked over to her and put his arm on her shoulders. "What are you doing here so early? Come to visit your favorite Uchiha," he winked at her.

Sakura faked a surprised expression. "Oh, is Sasuke-kun home, I though he usually left to train before dawn?" Shisui pouted, and if Sakura didn't know better, she'd of sworn she heard his cousin snort.

Recovering quickly, Shisui changed the subject. "So, Sakura, you free to train with us today?"

"Oh, I…" Sakura blushed. "I have plans today." She glanced at Shisui only to see an evil grin on his face.

He unwound his arm from her shoulder and leaned close to her face. "Does the little cherry blossom have a date?" Sakura spluttered. "She does." Shisui's grin got even wider. "So… Who is it?"

Sakura tried to force down her blush. "That's none of your business."

"Oh, come on, Sakura." He drawled, "I'll find out anyway."

Sakura thought for a second and sighed. "Inuzuka Kiba."

"An inuzuka, really, I didn't think that would be your type." Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off. "Although, now that I think about it, I can see how you two would be cute together." Shisui grinned at her. "Well, have fun, but not too much fun." He winked at her. Sakura's blush came back full force. Then shisui leaned in close to speak in her ear. "Or, at least, if you do… make sure to use protection."

Sakura's eyes widened and her face turned red, this time from anger. "SHISUI!" She yelled as she turned and punched him in the chest, sending him flying several feet backwards.

Shisui let out a pained laugh as he sat up and looked to the still red Sakura. "Christ, cherry blossom, you pack a punch." Sakura didn't respond, still fuming. Shisui went to speak again but was cut off by his cousin.

"Shisui, that's enough." He leveled his cousin with a no-nonsense glare. "Leave miss Haruno to her day and stop antagonizing her."

Shisui sheepishly runs his hand over the back of his head as he stands, flinching slightly. "Yeah, I guess I overdid it." He turned to Sakura. "Sorry, Sakura. And really, I hope you and that Inuzuka kid have a good time." He shot her a sincere smile and Sakura couldn't help but smile back.

"It's okay, shisui. I gotta go, but I'll see you soon." She waved to him and bowed to Itachi before taking off back to her home.

...

A/N

This chapter was actually edited for once.

A note, I call bs on people portraying kiba as a sexist asshole. His sister and mother are badasses and would not let him think that way. Although I understand him being an ass in general because of how impulsive he is and not always thinking about his words.

Also, reread the scene with shisui teasing Sakura while thinking of Itachi in the background like, "Shisui, stop flirting, shes too young for you." "Shisui leave her alone and stop teasing her." "Shisui, what the FUCK-"

…..


End file.
